Little Cleo Smith's name has yet to be added to the federal government's missing persons register despite the youngster vanishing from an outback camp nearly two weeks ago.
An extensive search for the four-year-old - who vanished from a campsite near Carnarvon in north-western Western Australia in the early hours of October 16 - has so far proven fruitless.
Australian Federal Police officers have been drafted in to support forensic and intelligence efforts amid fears Cleo was abducted from her family's tent.
There is no sign of her though among the 2,600 cases listed on the National Missing Person Register, which the AFP says is reserved for 'long-term' disappearances.
Cleo Smith, four, vanished from the Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon in north-west Western Australia in the early hours of October 16
Cleo pictured with her family. An extensive search for the four-year-old has so far proven fruitless
The force says someone has to have been missing for at least three months before they can be added to the register.
At that point, federal police will only update the register if the relevant state or territory considers a missing person case to be 'long-term'.
'The cases listed do not represent every missing person in Australia that has been reported to police,' the register reads.
A top criminologist earlier claimed forensic police who spent three days searching Cleo's family home would have been looking for 'signs of injuries or struggles'.
Detectives spent four hours on Tuesday scouring the property in Carnarvon.
Police then searched Cleo's family home for a third time on Wednesday as part of 'routine practices' to eliminate all possibilities.
Her mother Ellie Smith and step-father Jake Gliddon have been ruled out as potential suspects in the ongoing police investigation as it enters its thirteenth day.
There is no sign of Cleo among the 2,600 cases listed on the Australian Federal Police's National Missing Person Register
Police desperately searching for Cleo (pictured) have searched the campsite the little girl went missing from, as well as her home, to gather more evidence as the AFP joins the hunt
Crime scene expert Dr Xanthe Mallett though said it was important for police to look for 'potential issues' at the home before ruling it out as a line of inquiry.
'They may be looking for signs of injuries or struggles, just to rule out any kind of potential issues that may have happened at home,' the University of Newcastle criminologist told Sunrise.
'You would have to look at the family, that would be part of the investigation sadly.
'They need to make sure that they collect the evidence that may be available at the beginning so it is not lost so I'd certainly expect them to search that family property as part of any routine investigation.'
The expert said 13 days was a 'really long time' for a young child to be missing.
'Obviously she could be anywhere in the country had she been abducted,' Dr Mallett said.
Forensic detectives spent much of Tuesday scouring Cleo's family home in Carnarvon and emerged with two evidence bags
'It is a significant worry and every day that passes, obviously getting more concerned for her safety.'
Officers involved in search efforts have since turned their attention back to the Blowholes campsite amid police fears the four-year-old girl was abducted and taken elsewhere.
Police from Taskforce Rodia are understood to have taken ash samples from several burnt-out campfires near shacks along the beachfront on Wednesday.
About 100 officers are on the ground searching for Cleo and the AFP have joined the suspected abduction case to boost search efforts.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed the AFP's involvement in the hunt for little Cleo in Parliament on Wednesday.
It's understood police from Taskforce Rodia took ash samples from several burnt-out campfires near shacks along the beachfront
'Australians can be certain that we will continue to equip our law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the tools and the resources that they need to combat this very
